Oftentimes, new technologies can seem like solutions in search of problems. And while Apple isn’t above those kinds of moves, it also often finds itself ahead of the curve, pushing technologies with a lot of potential before the world at large is ready for them.

Apple Pay has, since its introduction, tended toward the latter. It’s a system that offers real tangible advantages over the status quo; the ability to pay with your iPhone or your Apple Watch offers not only more convenience than paying with a physical card but also bestows much needed security on every transaction. It’s become more and more popular, but there are still lots of places where you can’t yet use it.

Samsung just took the wraps off its latest Galaxy S10 phones, along with an intriguing new folding phone/tablet called the Galaxy Fold. They were all the internet could talk about on Wednesday, and with good reason: there’s some legitimately cool stuff there. But none of them present the existential threat to Apple. In fact, they probably won’t have a measurable impact on iPhone or iPad sales at all.

The greatest threat to continued sales of Apple products is Apple, not the threat of a superior product from Samsung.

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iPhone/iPadiPhoneSmartphonesiOSMomentum Aria LED Floodlight with Wi-Fi Camera review: Cheap, but far from the best valueFri, 22 Feb 2019 03:00:00 -0800Michael BrownMichael BrownThis camera/floodlight combo will save you a few bucks, but you’ll give up a lot.https://www.techhive.com/article/3343058/security-cameras/momentum-aria-review.html#tk.rss_all
CamerasSurveillanceHome TechSamsung’s Galaxy Buds vs. Apple’s AirPods: How do they compare on an iPhone?Fri, 22 Feb 2019 03:00:00 -0800Leif JohnsonLeif Johnson

Samsung announced its new Galaxy Buds true wireless earphones earlier this week, and they’re obviously designed for Samsung’s own Galaxy phones. (As a neat trick, you can even use the upcoming Galaxy S10 to charge the Galaxy Buds.) In design and price, though, Samsung is clearly attempting to make these little guys an attractive alternative to Apple’s AirPods—perhaps even for iPhone users.

So are they? We managed to get our hands on a pair of Galaxy Buds ahead of the March 7 release date, and I formed a few impressions of how well they work with an iPhone XS Max. In some cases, yes, they actually come out ahead. In others, they’re a reminder that the AirPods are a far greater value than we often give them credit for.

Given the chance, most of us would jump at the opportunity to bring down our power bills. But, there’s a prevailing assumption that doing so involves dealing with steep upfront costs before the savings actually come in. Arcadia Power presents a different solution, however, and it’s willing to give new users $20 off their first utility bill for trying out the platform.

At its core, Arcadia Power is a free platform that connects homeowners and renters to clean, low-cost energy solutions. Users who sign up become part of a community of more than 150,000 members, driving the platform’s purchasing power and allowing Arcadia Power to negotiate for lower monthly payments for green energy.

Today’s a good day to pick up an iPad Pro if the price has previously scared you away, as Amazon is currently selling the previous generation of Apple’s beloved 10.5-inch tablet for up to $200 off. Also, we’re seeing a rare deal on the Magic Trackpad 2. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen the device listed for on Amazon to date.

But first, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The best deal here is easily for the gold 512GB model with Wi-Fi for $799, which is a full $200 down from the normal price of $1,000. Hope you like gold, though. If you don’t, you can find some slightly less stellar discounts on the other models as well:

Apple’s iPhone SE disappeared from the iPhone lineup last fall, when the company introduced the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. But it keeps reappearing in Apple’s online Clearance store. It’s back again, and who knows how long inventory will last.

You can’t find the iPhone SE at the retail Apple Store, though you may be able to find one at a carrier store. If you’ve wanted one but had no luck through the methods above, now’s your chance. Since it’s on clearance, stock on these phones is limited.

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iPhoneiPhone/iPadSmartphonesYou can get a 32-inch Toshiba HD Fire TV Edition today for less than the price of an Echo SpotThu, 21 Feb 2019 08:18:00 -0800Alexandria HaslamAlexandria Haslam

Whether or not you've decided to cut the cord, a smart TV can open up your entertainment world, with internet connectivity capabilities and streaming channels built right in. And today you can get a 32-inch Toshiba HD Fire TV on Amazon for $100Remove non-product link, down from a list price of $180 and the lowest we've ever seen it by a wide margin.

Whether you’re writing the next best-selling software or coding the next big mobile app, typing will be one of your most valuable skills. However, time is money, and if your progress is hindered by your glacial typing pace, then your projects may feel like they’ll never see the light of day. If typing speed is one of your shortcomings, Typesy can get you up to speed for $19.99.

Apple might be struggling to sell the iPhone XR, but that’s not stopping Samsung from using a similar strategy with the launch of the new Galaxy S10 line. Alongside the usual regular and plus models, Samsung has also released the S10e, which takes—nay rips out—a page from Apple’s playbook.

As with everything Apple and Samsung, the two phones are not created equal. They may both have the same $750 price tag and premium sensibilities, but the S10e plays by a different set of rules, for better and worse.

4 ways the Galaxy S10e beats the iPhone XR

The S10e has an OLED screen

The biggest difference between the iPhone XR and XS is obviously the display. Where the XS has a brilliant HDR OLED display, the XR has a 179x828 LCD screen with a just-enough-to-be-Retina 326 ppi. The S10e, on the other hand, doesn’t skimp nearly as much on the display. Like the S10, it also has an OLED display, though with fewer pixels: it’s only full HD (1080) versus quad HD (1440) on the S10 and S10+. But it’s still a whole lot better than the XR’s, liquid retina and all.

Modern websites have a legitimate reason to push a lot of data to your browser that it retains for future sessions. This can vary from a browser “cookie” that maintains a session for a short period of time to other identifiers and even databases that are pulled up, but only when you visit the site again.

This can snowball into “cruft,” a catchall term for digital code you don’t want. In particular, I see a problem with it in Safari, and have a way to troubleshoot and fix it.

You’ll realize something is amiss is when you visit a website you use routinely and receive an odd error. You try closing windows, quitting the browser, even restarting your Mac, and the problem persists. My credit-union site, for instance, will throw up a server error that says my headers are too long and malformed. Thank you very much, but my headers are just fine!

After releasing iOS 12.1.3 with a few minor bugfixes, Apple has has moved on to iOS 12.2. The first beta was released to developers on January 24, 2019, with the first public release following on the 28th.

Registered developers can download the iOS beta profile by visiting developer.apple.com/download using the device on which they want to run the beta. Non-developers can enter the public beta program by visiting beta.apple.com on the device they wish to enroll in the beta.

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iPhone/iPadiOSIn two years, the Mac, iPhone, and iPad will be able to run the same appsWed, 20 Feb 2019 10:03:00 -0800Roman LoyolaRoman Loyola

Apple announced that the company has no plans to merge iOS and macOS during its Worldwide Developers Conference last year, but it also said it’s working on a way for developers to write apps that work on both operating systems. Project Marzipan, as Apple calls it, wasn’t discussed in much detail at WWDC, but Apple described the News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos apps that come with macOS Mojave as examples of Marzipan at work. And we haven’t heard a lot about Marzipan since WWDC.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Marzipan could be in the spotlight for this year’s WWDC. According to Gurman, Apple could release a software development kit at the conference that will allow iPad developers to port their apps to the Mac. Then, in 2020, Apple will release a kit that ports iPhone apps to the Mac. By 2021, Apple will give developers the ability to create a “single binary” of an app—in other words, one app that can run on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Smart plugs add extra control to any device, smart or not, and today you can grab a pair at impulse prices. A two-pack of Anker’s Eufy smart plugs are on sale for $26 at Amazon today, a huge drop from a list price of $40.

These plugs are designed to bring some basic brains to lamps and other “dumb” appliances. Their slim design doesn’t cover the other outlet at the wall—a problem with some bulky smart plugs—so you can plug in both at once with no problem at all. You won’t need a smart hub to connect them, either; the plugs pack built-in connectivity capabilities that allow control via the EufyHome mobile app. Once connected, you can use the app to turn devices on and off remotely, or set schedules and countdown timers. You can also give other people control permissions or track energy usage right in the app.

One major complaint about the new MacBook is its lack of I/O ports for external devices, so most people use a USB-C adapter. However, this adds cable bulk without providing additional functionality. If you want an all-in-one solution to eliminate clutter while enjoying a host of additional features, you can buy the DoBox for $255 with code PREZDAY15, 20% off.

As the name suggests, the DoBox Portable Wireless Hub does everything you need within a small, unified package. MacBooks users can connect to the DoBox through USB-C, but its true potential lies behind its wireless connection. You can connect to the DoBox via Wi-Fi, allowing you to control any device plugged into the DoBox wirelessly, so you can use your mouse, keyboard, and external storage without consuming your MacBook’s I/O ports.

I’m daring to believe we’re living in one of the best years for the Mac in ages. A recent report from trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo brims with rumors regarding everything from a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an “all-new design” to a 32-inch 6K standalone Apple monitor. There may even be a 32GB upgrade for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and it looks as though we’ll finally be getting the modular Mac Pro.

But it’s that “all-new design” that intrigues me the most. Kuo didn’t offer many specifics, so I’ve allowed my imagination and wishlist to run wild. For the most part, I’ve left out hardware upgrades—such as a better graphics card (like the Vega)—and focused on the general user experience. With these changes, I believe Apple could recapture some of the wonder the MacBook used to spark in years past.

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MacsMacBooksLaptopsAppleSonarworks True-Fi review: The promise of studio-quality sound from average headphonesWed, 20 Feb 2019 03:00:00 -0800Theo NicolakisTheo NicolakisTrue-Fi will correct your headphone's frequency anomalies with the click of a button.https://www.techhive.com/article/3341378/headphones/sonarworks-true-fi-review.html#tk.rss_all
HeadphonesSoftwareConsumer ElectronicsIt’s time for Apple to get back into the smart home in a big wayWed, 20 Feb 2019 03:00:00 -0800Jason SnellJason Snell

Apple’s current strategy in the home tech market is a bit murky. It launched the HomePod and Apple TV 4K in 2017, and HomeKit support seems to have become much more widespread lately, but it also killed the AirPort line of products and has stood by as competitors like Google and Amazon snap up companies like Nest and Eero.

Earbud makers have been busy doing away with wires—a good thing whether or not your phone still has a headset jack. You no longer have to deal with cords if you don't want to. True wireless earbuds connect to one another and your audio source via Bluetooth.

No wires mean no inline microphones or controls, but truly wireless earbuds sound just as good as traditional Bluetooth counterparts (for better or worse). They also boast all of the features we've come to expect from earbuds designed to work with your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

Since Apple’s AirPods became a runaway hit, an endless stream of companies have rolled out their own true wireless earbuds and earphones. As you might expect, not all of them are worth your time or money—so we've got your back with buying suggestions to meet a wide variety of needs.

There’s a lot to be said for owning an inexpensive pair of earphones. If they get damaged or lost, it won’t hurt as much as it would if they’d cost more. They might not sound as good as a set of high-end cans do: but hey, they were inexpensive. The trick to finding a set of low-cost earphones that’ll make you happy is knowing how to draw the line between inexpensive and cheap.

Inexpensive allows you to shrug away all of the things that your earphones can’t do. It’s cool because they sound good enough, work reasonably well, and don’t make you want to throw them across the room in frustration. Cheap means that, even if they didn’t cost you much, they’re still not good enough. When using a cheap product, you find yourself wishing that you’d spent more. Cheap makes you want to buy something else. Cheap ends up with you leaving your earphones in a drawer.

These days, customers are smarter and more connected than ever — meaning their expectations are higher. In order to deliver a customer experience tailored to those needs, companies need to quickly transform the way their teams collaborate and work together. That’s whereQuip, a Salesforce company, comes in: a trailblazing communication and productivity platform that empowers teams to stay connected, work more efficiently and innovate at a rapid clip.

QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting tools on the market and is a necessity if you’re looking to track your small business’s financial data. However, it can be difficult to master, especially if your time is aimed at running your business alone or as a small team. If you’d like to master QuickBooks and have unparalleled control over your finances, this $19 Master Class can show you how.

Bluetooth speakers help you kick out the jams no matter where you are, and today, Amazon’s throwing a one-day saleRemove non-product link with steep discounts on three superb wireless Anker speakers. The Anker SoundCore 2 is $28, down from a list price of $40; a two-pack of SoundCore Flare stereo speakers is $70, down from a list price of $110; and the SoundCore Boost is $56, down from a list price of $79. You’ll need to act quick if you’re interested though, as this Amazon Deal of the Day expires at midnight.